ITV says ad revenue to slip less than market expectation

ITV said it expected its key net advertising revenue to slip about 1 per cent in the first nine months of the year, ahead of analyst expectations, as the British broadcaster coped better than other media with the volatility hitting ad markets.

Newspapers in Britain have warned of a slump in advertising in recent months, as companies held off from spending around the European Union referendum vote, and ITV had trimmed its own forecast in May.

But the group, which broadcasts such shows as Coronation Street and Britain's Got Talent, met first-half forecasts with flat net ad revenue in the first half and said it would slip about 1 per cent in the first nine months to the end of September.

That was better than expected, with most analysts predicting a fall of more than 5 per cent in the third quarter due to a tough comparison with last year when ITV broadcast the Rugby World Cup.

Despite the robust performance ITV said last month’s vote to leave the EU had resulted in a backdrop of wider economic uncertainty and as a result it would target cost cuts of £25 million (€29.8 million) for 2017.

"Our strategy of rebalancing and strengthening ITV and building a global production business of scale continues to deliver with double-digit revenue and adjusted ebitda growth in the first half of the year," chief executive Adam Crozier said.

ITV reported first-half adjusted ebita up 10 per cent to £438 million (€522 million).

"We have a strong balance sheet and the capacity to continue to invest behind our strategy, while at the same time delivering returns to our shareholders," ITV said. – (Reuters)